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Proctoring Service for Online Exams

Ball State faculty members teaching online classes may use B Virtual, a provider of secure, online proctoring services, an important step to enhance the academic integrity of online exams in online courses. This service can be used for major exams, such as mid-terms or finals, in online-only classes.

Online proctoring will be offered at no additional cost to students. Students will also have the benefit of 24/7 access to the service, an important aspect, especially to off-campus adult learners who are often completing their assignments around the demands of full-time jobs and family obligations.

Proctoring is part of a larger issue of the maintenance of academic integrity in online programs and was a major recommendation made by the provost-appointed “Growing Online Education Task Force.” From that recommendation, a small group appointed by the provost and made up of members of the University Senate Instructional Media Subcommittee, Online and Distance Education, and iLearn met under the leadership of Dave Pearson, associate professor of exercise science, to evaluate similar policies at other institutions and to draft policy. The policy conforms to national best practices and those recommended by the Quality Matters Program.

Key Features and Product Demo
So that faculty members can feel confident that students are indeed the individuals taking their exams, B Virtual offers some key features that make this a robust proctoring service:

Advanced technology that allows off-site proctors to monitor students and their desktops during online exams

Heightened identity verification

Recording of all exam session data including video, audio, and keystroke information

Using the B Virtual proctoring service is voluntary. Many faculty members employ other best-practice and equally effective methods to assess learning in their online courses. However, if you are teaching an online class and are using another proctored exam service, you will need to use B Virtual and to follow the proctoring policy.